Central European leaders demand Balkan EU accession
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have demanded to open accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania this year, as Hungary's man prepares to take over the enlargement portfolio.
News in Brief
- Germany prepared to top up post-Brexit EU budget
- New Saudi attack threats, but EU and US still divided
- EU anti-trust chief goes after Belgian tax breaks
- Luxembourg PM Bettel humiliates Johnson
- No new backstop proposal at Juncker-Johnson lunch
- Saudi oil production in flames after drone attack
- US: attack on Saudi oil came from Iran or Iraq
- Poll: Belgium's far-right Vlaams Belang largest party
Opinion
EU report recognises Albania's achievements
Albania currently faces a serious crisis, which it would be foolish for all actors in the international community to ignore. Yet we must ask that our partners in Europe read Federica Mogherini's report carefully and recognise accomplishments.
Macedonia to join next wave of EU enlargement
Two million people in Macedonia will be hoping to become EU citizens in 2025 as leaders give nod to start talks.
Opinion
20 years on: Kosovo is still waiting
Kosovo's foreign minister reflects on two decades since his country was saved by Nato, in the first "war for values", and the task ahead to achieve lasting peace with Serbia, and with it, EU membership.
Opinion
Ukrainian election: a country struggling to reform itself
With a record of 44 candidates running for president, it remains to be seen who will become Ukraine's next leader. But will Ukrainian politicians and their international partners be able to keep the country on the road to reform?
Opinion
Eastern Europe Matters
The foreign ministers of Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic reflect on 10 years of the Eastern Partnership with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Serbia pact with Russian bloc to be short-lived, EU says
Serbia will have to dissolve its new pact with Russia's "Eurasian" trade bloc when it joins the EU, the European Commission has said.
EU prepares 'targeted' sanctions on Turkey over gas drilling
EU visa bans and asset freezes in the air over Turkish gas drilling in Cypriot waters as Ankara sends a second ship into disputed zone.
EU paths fork for Albania and North Macedonia
Germany will agree to open EU accession talks with North Macedonia in September, Skopje has said, but Albania's prospects look less bright.
EU split on Western Balkans accession
Europe's credibility is at risk in the Western Balkans, half its member states have warned - but EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Albania and North Macedonia unlikely to start accession talks soon.
Opinion
We need to tackle sexual violence in south-east Europe
Face-to-face interviews with 15,179 women reveal that beliefs in female subservience and marital obedience continue to persist in south-eastern and eastern Europe.
Opinion
Why it's time for the Kosovo Security Force
The Kosovan deputy PM calls on Nato members to follow the US in supporting the enlargement of the Kosovo Securitiy Force. "Kosovo owes it to both its own people and the international community to take this step", Behgjet Pacolli says.
Opinion
Why is Orban embracing a criminal from Western Balkans?
Orban's Hungary will edge closer to Russia and cause discord within its Western alliances if it gets away with harbouring a convicted ex-PM.
Opinion
Amending the constitution: A historic opportunity for Macedonia
After the fleeing of ex-PM Nikola Gruevski to Hungary, what Macedonia needs is an independent judiciary so that wrongdoers from all parties are brought behind bars, and a reconciliation between Albanians and Macedonians, based on full equality between communities.
Opinion
EU must recognise new force for Balkans destabilisation
EU foreign ministers will discuss Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday. The EU has the opportunity to show that it is not a political dwarf in the Balkans, where not only economic, but also political reforms are necessary.
Anti-Erdogan reporter risks deportation from Germany
Adil Yigit, a Turkish journalist in Germany advocating the release of imprisoned colleagues, has been ordered to leave the country by the end of January.
Opinion
Nationalism and polarisation in Macedonia's referendum
In an attempt to bury a three-decade-long dispute with Greece over the country's name, Macedonia's referendum has thrown open as many issues as it sought to overcome.
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Opinion
Kosovo's Interpol bid - and its ramifications for EU
Interpol's fight against cross-border crime demands cooperation, not politics - be it from Serbia or China.
'Demotivated, disillusioned' Bosnians head to polls
Sunday's election - in one of the most complex political systems in the world - sees many Bosnia's worry the EU has already given up hope on them. Fears of electoral fraud are unlikely to help.
Opinion
EU blackmailed: behind the scenes of Kosovo-Serbia talks
Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin, and Hashim Thaci are blackmailing the EU for political and personal gain. With the US going against Germany, prospects of a happy outcome look dim.
Tensions mount over Kosovo-Serbia deal
Serbia will never recognise Kosovo, Serbia's foreign minister has said, as the Western Balkans heads into a new period of turbulence.
Germany urges EU to rival China in Western Balkans
The EU and US have voiced concern on Chinese and Russian influence in the Balkans as the region's countries prepare to move closer to Western bloc.
Opinion
Kosovo-Serbia deal: addressing the fears
Window of opportunity for Kosovo-Serbia deal is wide open, but not for long, the Kosovar president's chief of staff writes for EUobserver as talks resume on Friday.
EU eyes Kosovo and Serbia enlargement deal
EU institutions have voiced hope of a new breakthrough in Western Balkans enlargement, despite "nerves" about land swaps for ethnic reasons.
EU commissioner goes against Merkel on Balkans borders
The EU commission has endorsed the idea of a Kosovo-Serbia border change, going against Germany and breaking a former taboo.
Opinion
How long can Bulgaria keep facing both East and West?
Sofia may be wearing out its welcome with Western democracies by playing both sides - seeking closer integration in Europe while cosying up to Moscow and Beijing, claiming to work towards hitting EU targets while putting its own interests first.
Turkey ends state of emergency but continues crackdown
The state of emergency introduced after the failed coup in 2016 ended on Thursday morning - but a new terror bill will maintain some of its measures.
Opinion
EU should brace for a more authoritarian Erdogan
The new blend of religious nationalism will be more anti-West and anti-EU, as Brussels has anything but leverage on Turkey. The first signs of this strong rhetoric are already visible.
EU delays Macedonia and Albania talks
Accession talks to start in 2019, not this year as hoped, after France, Denmark and Netherlands force delay despite breakthrough on Macedonia name dispute.
Tear gas bodes ill for Macedonia name deal
Police fired tear gas against protesters in Greece and Macedonia over the weekend, as diplomats signed a name deal to unlock EU enlargement.
Basque threat of 'second front' for independence
Last weekend some 175,000 people in the Basque country demanded a 'right to decide'. For some, it means more autonomy from Spain, others independence. "We want to open a second front within the Spanish state," says one Basque politician.
Macedonia expects 'breakthrough' in Greece talks
Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev has said a "breakthrough" on the name dispute is imminent, as he prepares to speak to his Greek counterpart on Friday.
Lifting emergency laws could unfreeze Turkey's EU bid
EU ambassador to Turkey said member states may consider reopening accession talks with Ankara if Erdogan put an end to the post-coup state of emergency.
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